Safety first

CADL is making safety a priority

One of my favorite things about libraries is that they are all about sharing. Sharing resources means everyone has access to more information, entertainment and technology than we would on our own. Old-fashioned book lending is perhaps the simplest and most profound example of this concept. Capital Area District Libraries has almost 400,000 print books in our collection, and more titles than any of us could have in our personal collections (even if we wistfully wish we could live in a library).

But the pandemic suddenly made this asset one of our biggest challenges. Imagine a restaurant offering curbside pickup but requiring everyone to bring back their containers when they are done. That’s kind of what it is like figuring out how to check out items from the library right now. It’s natural to wonder if it is safe to check out items. Here is how CADL is making every effort to keep our staff and community members safe.

Cleaning plus contactless pickup

Keeping staff safe is one of the most important ways to keep our collection safe for members. Social distancing, PPE and increased cleaning and sanitizing procedures are just as important at the library as at other places of work. Contactless pickup is available at all branches for items that have been placed on hold and checked out to you. Of course, our digital collection is always available as well.

Quarantining

Even though library items are not a primary virus transmission concern to the Centers for Disease Control, it is still important to minimize risk as much as possible. This is especially true considering how many people served by libraries fall into high risk categories. It’s not possible to trace every item checked out and returned by contagious individuals. And cleaning every returned item is not a good option, because it would damage most of them.

So how are we keeping circulating items safe? The focus is on quarantining as a natural decontamination method. This method is recommended after a study done by the library service and research non-profit OCLC and the federal Institute for Library and Museum Services, partnering with scientific research and development organization Battelle. The project is called Reopening Archives, Libraries and Museums (REALM), and is the first of its kind done specifically on library materials.

The testing looks at how long coronavirus lives on a wide variety of library materials. While many books and AV cases are testing clear of virus in 24-72 hours, the second round of testing found that the virus lives longer in books and magazines with glossy pages, including board books.

For this reason, the recommended quarantine time for returned library items is now 96 hours. Many Michigan library cooperatives, and the Michigan Library Association, recommend this study as the latest, best data available. CADL is not only following this guideline, we have also suspended board book lending, because let’s face it, those items are more likely than any others to end up in a little one’s mouth!

Honoring our communities

Hopefully additional research will find that a shorter quarantine period can prevent transmission while we await a vaccine. In any case CADL will continue to follow the most current research and guidelines. The phrase “an abundance of caution” is not just a catchphrase or platitude for us—we believe that informed, science-backed precautions honor the diverse communities we serve.

Thais Rousseau is Collection Development Director at Capital Area District Libraries.